Terminus
by redstarsarc
Summary: Jyn and Cassian were supposed to die but Scarif was only the beginning. The Doctor isn't thrilled to have two extra companions, especially with a know-it-all alien sorcerer challenging him to save the universe for the umpteenth time. But they'll have to make do. An alien race has stolen Imperial tech and created a fleet of Death Stars. Every planet is a target, every life forfeit.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This idea has been rattling around in my head for quite some time. It's set during the events of Doctor Who season 10 and directly after the events of Rogue One. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Terminus

The door to the Tardis clicked solidly shut. The Doctor's hand lingered – it was good to be back, strange after all this time – before he pulled away. Yet everything was just as he'd left it, a welcoming sight that wouldn't quite chase away the memories of his recent ordeal, but it would help.

Bill greeted him when he entered. She jumped up from her seat, the relief evident on her face.

"Did you find him? Do you know where he's gone?"

The Doctor approached the console and at his touch, the Tardis purred. He looked up at Bill. Excitable, strong, human Bill. She was still relatively new to the Tardis, she still had that naiveté all of his companions had had at the beginning. How long it would last with her, he couldn't say. He thought she would break after their run-in with the Daleks, but she hadn't. Not even after the days she'd been forced to wait in the Tardis for his return. Days for her. Months for him.

"Oh, I've found him," the Doctor said. He turned several knobs on the Tardis console, his dexterous hands working on automatic. "And I know right where he's going to be. So are you ready to get some answers?"

Bill's face lit up in that way it always did at the promise of adventure. It didn't matter that he'd left her waiting. All that mattered was the here and now.

The Doctor threw a lever and the Tardis began to dematerialize. It made that sound he loved so much.

Bill held onto the console. She didn't notice the Doctor's gaze harden just a fraction. He didn't tell her about the times the Daleks had nearly killed him. The time they had taken him prisoner while Bill waited.

All she knew was that they were searching for a man. An alien with the face of a human who had destroyed over a dozen Daleks with a single flick of his wrist. An alien whose only alias was the Sorcerer.

* * *

Desric Vosh did not want to die. His hands trembled, gripping the blaster rifle to his chest. Sweat gleamed on his brow from the tropical sun and his heart pounded against his ribs. He took shots whenever he could, from behind the cover of the trees. It was not his first battle. And just as in the battles before, his wife's face was in the forefront of his mind.

Daemora.

In every battle, there was chaos. Soldiers he'd shared a meal with mere hours before died. And in every battle, he was convinced he would not survive and he thought of Daemora. Pictured her beautiful dark skin, her hair pulled up so it would be out of the way as she performed maintenance on the droid her family had given her. As always, he focused on her, on her smile, and promised her that he would survive and come home.

Whether it was luck or fate or the Force, that promise had always held true.

In the distance, the trees trembled, bent. An AT-ACT walker emerged from the jungle and he clenched his teeth, forced himself to think of Daemora.

 _I promise you I will return_. He stepped out from his cover and opened fire on the death troopers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something explode against the AT-ACT's armor with no effect. He forced himself to ignore it, to focus on the ground troops.

They returned fire. Blaster bolts streaked past, hitting the trees, burning the air around him and still all he saw was Daemora.

A blaster shot hit him in the shoulder, twisting him to the side. He gasped, tears springing to his eyes, and swung his rifle around one-handed, fired several more shots.

Another bolt hit him in the thigh and a third immediately after got him in the ribs. He went down. The rifle clattered into the underbrush. Desric sucked in a quick breath, the places where he'd been hit burning as if they were on fire. His feet scrabbled on the ground, but he couldn't find his rifle. His vision was blurry.

"Daemora," he breathed. Her laugh was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. He had to get back to her. He searched blindly for his rifle even as a figure loomed over him. He kicked at the ground, tried to get up but pain lanced through him and he hissed.

A hand settled on his shoulder and a sudden coolness enveloped him.

"Shhh," the figure said. Desric swallowed, blinked to clear his eyes. It was not a death trooper who stood above him but simply a man. Old and bearded, dressed in plain clothing. A civilian? But Scarif was a military research facility.

Desric lurched and immediately collapsed with a cry. Where was that damn rifle? There. A shape in the brush. Desric went for it.

"It won't do any good," the man said. "You're injured. You can't even stand."

Desric checked the rifle but it was undamaged. "Out of my way, old man." He tried to stand again, leaning heavily against a tree. The man grabbed his arm and his shoulder flared.

"It will make no difference," the man said and the intensity in his voice forced Desric's gaze to meet his. "You die either way."

Desric refused to believe that. He had a promise to keep.

"Let go."

The man's eyes were weary as if he'd seen much. He let go and Desric collapsed back against the tree. He caught a glimpse of the battle and the reason why no more death troopers had come after him. A lone soldier was in their midst, fighting for all he was worth. It reminded him of the elaborate graffiti he'd seen on run-down structures in the outer rim worlds, images of brave warriors facing off against a faceless, tyrannical enemy, images that would get you arrested if you were caught making them. He turned back to the old man. Desric was trembling, probably from shock.

"What are you doing here?" As far as he could see, the man didn't even have a weapon.

"I came to meet someone," the man said. "I wanted to show him something."

Desric held onto his rifle like a lifeline. "Show him what?"

The man waved a hand as if to encompass the battle, the Citadel Tower, all of it. "I am truly sorry." He started to walk backward, retreating. "The thing is, I could do something about this. But I'm not going to and for that, I'm sorry." He turned his back on Desric.

"Wait!" Desric shouted. "Come back here." He started forward, too quick, not heeding his injuries. His leg gave out and he fell to one knee. The old man soon disappeared into the jungle.

In the opposite direction of where the man had gone, the death troopers were dead. The remnants of a cargo shuttle burned brightly, thick smoke billowing into the air. And above it all, pale and looming, dwarfing the fighters which scattered in its presence, was the newly completed Death Star.

* * *

The Tardis materialized on the beach of a small world that in any other time would have been a paradise. If not for the warning lights on the console which signaled multiple weapons fire in the vicinity.

"It looks like a war zone," Bill said when the Doctor pulled up the Tardis' camera feed. It showed fighters swooping in from the skies, streams of light streaking through the air, smoke billowing up from the trees. Much larger vessels pale behind the light blue sky.

"It _is_ a war zone," the Doctor replied grimly. It was nothing new. He had seen more than his share of wars.

"But why would he come here? It's not exactly idyllic."

"I'll just have to go and ask him then, won't I?" Another question to add to the list. It was an important question. He'd ask it first. No, he'd ask it after the Dalek one.

"Wait, wait, wait. Don't you mean _we_?"

And there it was.

Bill crossed her arms. "You were gonna leave me here."

"Bill…"

"'Cause we know how well that goes." She threw up her hands. "I thought we were over that. What's the point in traveling around in time and space if I don't get to see any of it?"

The Doctor sighed. "There is a battle out there. A dangerous place for a meeting. I'll be right back."

"Doctor." Bill moved to stand between him and the door.

"Bill."

"No. We all know where this is going. You walk out that door and I'm following you anyway." And here she raised one defiant eyebrow that reminded the Doctor of why he'd invited her on his adventures in the first place.

The Doctor raised a finger as if to make a counter argument, but nothing came. She would definitely follow him. "Fine. But don't wander off and thing's get messy, run back to the Tardis."

"Got it."

Humans. It seemed that all of his companions from his last few regenerations were terrible when it came to taking orders.

It was surprisingly calm on the beach when they stepped out onto the sand. It wasn't until they headed into the jungle that they saw the bodies. Soldiers in black or white body armor, others in plainclothes or uniforms.

"Don't look at them," the Doctor said and this time, Bill obeyed without argument, an ill expression on her face. The Doctor himself didn't spare a single glance at the bodies. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. And the memories that came with them – the burned out husks of soldiers, the razed cities, the electronic battle cries of hordes of Daleks, entire Tardis fleets destroyed – were forcefully kept at bay.

He appeared from the trees then, having expected them. An old man with a beard, deceptively harmless. But the Doctor had seen him destroy Daleks as if they were nothing. It was the second time he had seen such a thing and he knew what had caused the first. He was determined to know the man's secret.

"Right on time, Doctor," the Sorcerer said, as casual as if they were taking a stroll through the park, not standing amidst so much carnage.

"Well, it _is_ a time machine. But you already knew that. Just as I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"Oh, I know why you're here. The Dalek thing, yes? It's a very neat trick, I should say."

"A trick, was it?" He hated it when people tried to act cleverer than him.

"A simple matter of quantum manipulation. But I did not save your life for the mere sake of it."

The Doctor scoffed. The thought of anyone saving him was absolutely ludicrous.

"I have no doubt you would have figured a way out of your predicament eventually. No, I did that to get your attention. I wanted to show you something."

"That was quite a dramatic way of getting my attention. You couldn't just call?"

The Sorcerer's lip quirked upward. "Look up."

As irritating as this person was, the Doctor's greatest weakness was curiosity. He looked up.

The sky was pale, clear, a pair of looming ships coming apart and raining debris down on the planet. He would have loved to use the Tardis' databanks to identify them. Only that wasn't what the man had brought them here to show them. No, for a second later, there was something else in the sky. Something so vast, the largest of the other vessels were mere specks in comparison. It was perfectly round and gray, with a large crater housing some sort of focusing lens and it didn't take a genius to guess what it was for.

"A weapon that size could destroy entire planets," the Doctor murmured. "That's what you wanted to show me? Surely with your skills, you could take out something like that in a heartbeat."

"That's just the thing. I'm not going to."

"What do you mean you're not going to?"

"It is not within my capacity to do anything about it. The Daleks? Those were nothing. This? This is something else entirely. Imagine the destructive power that thing wields. Imagine an entire fleet of them. That's what you're up against and more."

"So what, you hiring us for a job or something and you're not even gonna help?" Bill said, switching her attention between the Sorcerer and the ominous sight above.

"Like I said, I cannot help you with this. I've shown you the weapon. Now it's on you."

"Are you _kidding_ me? You can't just –"

"Bill." The Doctor's voice came out sounding far too calm.

"What. You're okay with this?"

"No, I'm not. But I've seen something like this before, a long time ago. If there's any possibility of a fleet of them out there somehow, we need to check it out."

"That's more like it," the Sorcerer said.

That's when the Death Star fired its laser at the planet. Beside the Doctor, Bill gasped. The laser struck the tower beyond the trees and it shattered and the whole world seemed to rip itself apart. The sky began to glow orange like the sunset.

"Run," the Doctor said. "Run!"

Bill didn't hesitate. The two of them crashed through the trees, reckless, the horizon behind them rising up in a great wave. Trees creaked and strained against the wind. A fighter lost control and careened into the jungle. The place was shaking itself apart and anyone caught by that weapon would be incinerated.

They emerged onto the beach. They were close enough to the Tardis so Bill stopped and the Doctor almost ran off without her if she hadn't shouted at him.

"Bill, what are you doing?" He ran back to her. By his estimates, they had less than a minute to escape.

"When we get in that Tardis, where are we going? What are you planning?" Her eyes were wide with fear.

"It doesn't matter. We're escaping. Now let's go."

Still, she didn't budge. "The people here…do you even know why they were fighting? And the survivors. Did they survive just to be killed by that thing?"

"It's a small world, Bill. A military base, by the looks of it. There's no one here to save."

"So you're not even gonna try? Go back in time and stop that thing being built or something?"

"It doesn't work like that." They were running out of time. A great wave was moving across the ocean, coming straight for them.

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't." Why did humans so often insist on saving everyone? "The soldiers came here to die. There's no one here to save."

Bill looked on the verge of tears though he was sure it was from the terror.

 _"Just save someone!_ " The Doctor winced at the memory of Donna's plea.

"We're out of time."

The horizon was almost upon them.

Just as the Doctor reached the Tardis, two figures appeared farther down the beach.

* * *

It was beautiful, really. The way the sky glowed orange and then white. Mesmerizing. As far as last sights went, it wasn't bad.

"Your father would have been proud of you, Jyn."

The horizon, a wall of sea and bright light rushed toward them. Jyn held onto Cassian tightly but she couldn't break her gaze away. It was so hypnotic and she trembled. At least she would see her father again.

That's when two figures came to stand between her and her death.

"Come with us if you want to live," said the taller of the two, a gray-haired man with an outstretched hand and the fury of a thousand suns in his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an amalgam of lights. Of whirring sounds and echoes of moving parts. A spacious technological cathedral where one should not exist.

Seconds ago, Jyn had waited for death and now there was this. Whatever this was.

The man who had rescued them walked over to a console without even looking at them. He hadn't said much of anything since he'd extended his hand and granted, there'd been no time for words. The horizon had come upon them, washing the land with white light and it had all gone away with the click of an inconspicuous blue door.

Now, still reeling from the impossibility of it all, Jyn gazed wide-eyed at the interior which from the outside had appeared as no more than a blue box only a couple of people could have fit inside. She didn't recognize the technology.

"We've wasted enough time already," the old man was saying, his voice breaking through her dream. He muttered something else but she didn't catch it.

The girl leaned against the console. "Yeah, but you saved a couple a people. That's gotta count for something."

"Only if I went around saving every person who needed it, I wouldn't get much done, would I?"

"Hold on. You're the Doctor. You live in a police box. Saving people's your whole deal, isn't it?"

"Bill."

"Sorry. I'm just sayin'. You're sending mixed signals."

"Jyn." Cassian's voice drew her attention away from the console. His voice was low and she could see her own disbelief reflected in his eyes. "We need to get back to Yavin 4. We _must_ know if we were successful." The rest of it went unsaid. _Or the others will have died for nothing._

Cassian glanced back at the old man and the girl and his brow furrowed. He walked over to them.

Jyn remained where she stood, slightly chilly and she realized it was because Scarif had been so warm. Especially on the beach. She closed her eyes.

She could still hear the distant echo of blaster fire, feel the frantic beating of her heart, and smell the smoke.

 _"Stardust." All these years gone yet he'd had faith enough to leave her a message. "That's it."_

 _"How do you know?"_

 _"I know because it's me."_

 _They were running out of time._

 _"Kay!"_

 _The sounds of blaster fire._

 _"You can still send the plans to the fleet. If they open the shield gate, you can broadcast from the tower. Locking the vault door now." K-2S0's voice warbled as he lost power but to Jyn, it sounded broken with grief._

 _"Kay! Kay!"_

 _"Goodbye."_

 _It was no more than she had expected. Living as she had, Jyn always knew everyone close to her would die. And she'd always assumed her own death was not far off. It didn't stop it from hurting, though. Not when K had locked the door. Not when the comm had gone silent. Not when Cassian had fallen._

 _"I am Jyn Erso. Daughter of Galen and Lyra. You've lost." Death had finally caught up as she stared into the face of the man responsible for her parents' deaths._

 _"I lose nothing but time. You, on the other hand, die with the rebellion."_

 _"Your father would have been proud of you, Jyn."_

Jyn opened her eyes. She was surprised to find tears gathering. Ahead of her, above the console with its blinking, humming lights, a screen flickered and came into focus. She fixed her gaze on it and recognized the planet, having seen it from the porthole of their stolen shuttle. Scarif.

Scarif was burning.

A large crater had opened up on its surface, a black pit where the tower and the beach had been. Where everyone had been, where she and Cassian had waited to die and had been saved against all hope. Down there, with the fighting all around them, the Death Star above, and the horizon climbing up on all sides, it had been the end of the world. Yet the dark spot didn't even cover half the planet.

Without thinking about it, Jyn had balled her hands into fists. She wished she hadn't lost her blaster. At least she knew that Krennic was dead, though it was little consolation.

Jyn turned away from the screen and looked to where Cassian stood off with the Doctor. He looked tense. Jyn wiped the tears away and frowned.

* * *

Cassian didn't trust this old man. He might have saved their lives but for what? In his experience, no one did anything without a reason. No one did anything out of the goodness of their heart. He'd learned that lesson the hard way when he was nine and he'd vowed he would never let himself be taken advantage of again. He would work for the rebellion. He would spy for them, fight and kill for them, but that was _his_ choice. He knew exactly what he was getting into and who he was doing it for and if they wanted his life, at least they were up front about it.

The old man didn't even seem to notice as he approached. The girl did, though, and she pushed off the console. Try as he might, Cassian couldn't guess what planet she might have come from, with those unfamiliar clothes, the strange way in which she acted.

"Hi," she said as if unsure of what to say but feeling the need to say something. After an awkward pause, she extended a hand. "I'm Bill."

"Cassian," Cassian said tentatively, taking her hand briefly.

The old man let out a sigh and rubbed at his eyes. "I've lost the signal. I might have been able to chase him if we had gotten off that planet sooner."

"Oh, grow up," Bill said.

"Bill, I am two thousand years old. I think I'm entitled to childish behavior on occasion. And besides that, I've long since run out of patience."

"Sir," Cassian interrupted before their argument could pick up steam. "I appreciate the rescue but Jyn and I need to return home." If Yavin 4 could be called home. He supposed it was, in its way. "If you could drop us off at the nearest unaffiliated planet, we will be on our way."

"In a minute," the man said, surprising him. Even during his brief exchange with Bill, his eyes had never left the console. Brow furrowing, Cassian stepped to the side and peered at the controls but they didn't resemble any he'd ever seen or used. And the screens that swung out from the central column contained images and lines of text and numbers he could make no sense of.

"The Sorcerer is playing games," the man muttered. "I don't like games. I have more to deal with than chasing a man across the universe. The Monk, the Toymaker, the Master. The Sorcerer. Where do they get all these silly names from, anyway? All the same, if he's right – and it's no fun for him if he isn't – that fleet poses a serious danger to this galaxy. I'm searching the Tardis databanks, trying to find reports to corroborate it."

"We need to leave," Cassian tried again. "Please. Sir."

"Ugh. I'm not a sir, never call me sir." He turned an intense glare on Cassian. After a beat, he added, "I'm the Doctor," before turning back to the console.

"Doctor. Please." If only he still had his blaster, he'd turn to threats. As it was, it seemed there was no other choice but to beg and he hated begging. "It is important that we return to where we belong. That planet where you found us? Our allies fought and died on those beaches." He had to swallow hard against the sudden surge of grief as he thought of K-2SO's final words, Bodhi, Chirrut, and Baze who would have perished in the blast if they hadn't been killed in battle first. "I don't know if you're aware, but we're in the middle of a war."

"Yeah. And people die in wars," the man, the Doctor, said, finally looking up for more than second. His eyes were old. "You think that was bad. I've seen more wars than I can count. I've seen good people die. I've seen entire planets destroyed, whole species wiped out. I'm sorry about your friends, but it's war. There's nothing we can do about it. Now when I figure out our next course of action, I'll be more than happy to let you off."

Cassian pursed his lips.

"Thank you. Doctor," Jyn said. Cassian hadn't even realized she'd come over to them. He thought he caught a wet gleam in her eyes. "Really. Before you two can argue anymore."

"I wasn't arguing," Cassian said.

"It's a thing I apparently do sometimes," the Doctor said and Cassian wasn't sure whether he was talking about saving people or arguing.

Before anyone could say anything more, a thin beeping emanated from the console, immediately getting the Doctor's attention.

"What is that?" Jyn asked.

"Distress signal," the Doctor said.

"Is it far?" Bill said.

"Not far. It hasn't even been going off for long. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer for that drop off."

Cassian exchanged a look with Jyn as the Doctor manipulated the controls and the ship hummed. Despite his urgency, he was curious and more than a little worried. Was it Yavin 4? Or another base associated with the rebellion?

"Do you think it's…" Bill began with a sideways glance at Jyn and Cassian. "You know…him?"

The Doctor's expression hardened. "Only one way to find out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Here it is, chapter three. I hope you enjoy and if you do, why not leave a review? Reviews are cookies for the soul.**

* * *

The Doctor tapped at the keys, acutely aware of three sets of eyes fixed on him. It was two sets too many as far as he was concerned but there were more pressing matters at the moment.

"It's coming from the vicinity of a planet at the edge of the galaxy. Kalee."

"I know it," the man who'd introduced himself to Bill as Cassian said. "An outer rim world. Few resources. Took a hard hit from the Empire a while back but other than that…" He trailed off and shrugged.

It might have just been a coincidence. The universe was a big place after all and things were always going wrong and blowing up in people's faces and groups killed each other for no reason. But the Sorcerer's words, taunting, lingered in his mind. The man knew things, things about him and about this looming threat, but he'd refused to divulge any of the details.

Deep in his hearts, the Doctor didn't believe in coincidences.

The screen where an image of Kalee floated beneath its coordinates flashed and was replaced by a staticky image in shades of blue. It wavered, the image distorted. The Doctor had been meaning to repair the holographic image display but had never gotten around to it and so had to settle for the computer's attempt to display a three-dimensional holographic projection in two dimensions.

"To any vessels in range, we are in need of assistance." The message was garbled. The speaker itself was alien, thin and tall with a face covered by a fearsome mask. "Our home is under attack. The enemy is…indescribable. We are dying. And perhaps the worst of it is that their power is so vast they could destroy us with a single blow. Yet they toy with us. They pick off our ships one by one. They wish us to know we are doomed. Please. Send help. We cannot survive much longer. We will be in your debt." The message cut off.

"No," Jyn said and everyone turned to look at her. "That's not possible. The Kaleesh are warriors. They're too proud for this."

"Even the proud can be humbled," the Doctor said.

"But it doesn't make sense. If it's the Death Star, why not just say the Empire? Why indescribable?"

"Because it's not the Death Star. Not just, anyway." It was time to assess just what it was the Sorcerer had left him with.

"What do you mean, not just –" Jyn was cut off as the Tardis lurched and shook. The Doctor's grip tightened on the console and Bill almost crashed into him. But no alarm sounded.

"Turbulence," the Doctor replied. Maybe. Probably.

"There's turbulence in the time vortex?" Bill said.

"Of course there is. If there's anything you humans got right with your 'time is a river' nonsense, it's that rivers have rapids."

"Psh. Okay, sure." Great, Bill was grinning. "Time rapids."

Still. The Doctor pulled a lever and turned a knob he couldn't quite remember the purpose of except that it was a knob he'd always turned, and the Tardis groaned and wheezed and they landed. A quick check showed breathable air, reasonable temperatures.

"Well." The Doctor grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "Time to see what all the fuss is about, shall we?" No matter the seriousness of the situation and his urgent desire to locate the Sorcerer and give him a piece of his mind, this was the fun part. The moment he lived for. The moment he stepped out of the Tardis and onto a new world, in a new time, with so many things to explore and learn.

He opened the door and stepped out into a dimly lit hallway. Utilitarian with pipes running across the ceiling and a single door at the end. He turned back but whatever was waiting in the other direction was blocked off by the Tardis.

"This ship is like nothing I've ever seen," Cassian said as he emerged and peered back at the Tardis. "But the outside. Why is it so…uh, this?" He made a vague gesture indicating either the Tardis' unconventional shape or its blueness.

"It's a police box," the Doctor said, defensive. He rather liked her this way and even after getting the chameleon circuit fixed, never elected to use it. "This part used to be more fun," he grumbled. Whatever happened to "it's bigger on the inside?"

"So is this like a spaceship or space station or what?" Bill said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Kinda boring. Or maybe it's like one of those underground habitats where they mine for minerals or something. Does Kale or Kalee or whatever have those?"

The Doctor approached the door and it swished open. "Spaceship, most definitely." The door led into an engine room, heavy equipment surrounding a core engine, but the lights were dim and the air still and silent. Curious. A cursory scan with the sonic showed that the engine was still functional and not without power. The quality of the air remained stable, suggesting life support was still online.

As he moved through the engine room, he slipped on his sunglasses and managed to download the ship's schematics. He needed to get to the bridge.

* * *

Bill had been on only one spaceship before and it had _not_ been a pleasant experience. She shuddered at the thought and tried to focus on something else. The cool glow of the overhead lights, the silent mass of the engine coils that loomed above her head. Even after all that she'd been through, being someplace new like this still excited her, though now that excitement was somewhat tempered by fear. Anything could happen. She'd seen a girl swallowed by a puddle, an enormous monster living beneath the Thames, an alien race who could make you believe anything they wanted. Traveling with the Doctor was a lot more dangerous than she'd thought at the beginning.

"Bill, isn't it?" Jyn said, coming alongside her. "Who are you, really? Can we trust you?" The questions stopped Bill short and the look in Jyn's eyes suggested she'd been betrayed before.

Bill shrugged. "Yeah. I think so. We're the good guys, anyway." She looked over to the Doctor but his back was to them.

Jyn followed her gaze. "And him?"

The Doctor? Bill wanted to say "Yes, absolutely" in a heartbeat, but then she wasn't so sure. He'd promised that she would be alright but that hadn't stopped him from leaving her.

Leaving her to…

 _It was cold. So very cold. And then lightning raced through her and she cried out and the last thing she saw was the pale, blank face of a corpse._

 _"I will see you soon."_

"He's the Doctor," Bill said. "He saves people. It's what he does. But he can be scary, sometimes." She looked down at her shoes. "He can be difficult. And things don't always happen the way they're supposed to. Heh, they never do, actually, now that I think about it. Either way, you can trust him." She took a deep breath. "I do."

Jyn didn't look entirely convinced. There was a distance to her gaze and Bill wondered what she'd been through, what had brought her to that small planet in the middle of a war. Bill knew what it was like to fear, knew what it was like to die and yet Jyn didn't tremble the way she had, with relief.

"Hey." Bill nudged Jyn with an elbow, bringing her focus back to the present. "What's your story?"

"Excuse me?"

"Everyone's got a story."

Jyn shook her head. "There's nothing to tell. My story's just like everyone else's. I'm just doing what I can to survive. To find peace." This last she said so quietly, Bill wasn't sure she was meant to hear it.

"Bill! Over here."

Bill turned, having not even realized that the Doctor had left the room. His voice echoed against the walls and she and Jyn followed it until they came to the bridge. It was cramped like the rest of the ship, crew stations colliding with one another. At the front of the bridge was a view screen, the view of space obscured by drifting debris.

"This ship was abandoned," the Doctor said. "Two life pods were ejected, not long ago according to the computer log. We must have just missed them."

"I'm not receiving anything," Cassian said, removing the headset with a look of disgust. "Something is jamming us."

The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the communications console. The screwdriver whirred a bit and the Doctor held it up as if reading something only he could see. "Wide distribution jamming field. The Kaleesh must have gotten that distress signal out right before they put it up."

Beside Bill, Jyn tensed. "Doctor." Her gaze was riveted on the view screen. Everyone turned to look. The debris that had been blocking their view was moving, bumping against the hull and causing the ship to jerk, but now they caught a glimpse of what the debris had been hiding.

A planet, or at least what used to be a planet. Decimated, it was no more than a charred husk, its surface blackened and lifeless. Bill had seen a handful of planets from space but never any like this. Had it once been beautiful? Had it once been blue with water and green with life, with wispy white clouds, maybe some deserts or arctic wastelands?

"That's impossible," Cassian said. "The Death Star could not have reached Kalee so fast. It would take at least a day to get here all the way from Scarif."

"Like it took a day for us?" Jyn said.

"Time and space vortex. More efficient than hyperspace," the Doctor said, still examining the sonic as if it had given strange readings and he was trying to puzzle them out. "Comes in real handy when you're in a hurry."

"And the Death Star?"

"That's the thing. It's not the Death Star, or at least, not _your_ Death Star. Isn't that right, Sorcerer?"

Bill tore her gaze away from the view screen.

"I wondered if you'd sense my presence," a voice said and a hologram sprang to life above the communication terminal. Bill recognized the man from Scarif and from war-torn Skaro before that.

Cassian immediately put the headset back on and reached for the dials.

"That won't do anything, Andor," the Sorcerer said. "The signal's still jammed. I am using other means to communicate with you."

"We're already playing your game, Sorcerer," the Doctor said. "I don't see there's a point."

"Is that what you think this is? A game?" The Sorcerer sounded disappointed. "Dear Doctor, it is so much more. It is life and death, not just for a planet or a single species, but the entire galaxy."

"So you choose your pawns and throw them into the fire while you watch. Like a god in the heavens, amused by the struggles of mere mortals. Too high and mighty to do anything but give vague advice."

"I _can't_ ," the Sorcerer said and Bill was surprised by the frustration in his voice. For the fire time, his calm exterior was cracking. "They already know I've contacted you and have forbidden me from taking any direct action."

"They? Who are they?"

"My people. Their word is law and I will obey them. I'm sorry to say, Doctor, but you're on your own."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"You know, I don't remember you being so stubborn."

"Then your memory's faulty. I've always been stubborn."

The Sorcerer's mouth quirked upward slightly and then the hologram vanished.

"Who was that?" Jyn asked. "What was he talking about?"

"We need to get out of here," the Doctor said. "Now."

"What –" Bill started.

"They're still here. Everyone back to the Tardis."

Bill's gaze went to the dead planet on the view screen and then to the stars. The debris had floated free of their view and she realized that he was right.

Amid the hulks of broken and lifeless ships could be seen not one or a few, but many spherical ships, impossibly large and spread out as distant as the stars. And closer, flitting through the debris like insects and coming straight for them were small, fast ships, their hulls like mirrors which reflected the stars and the distress lights of the dead fleet.


	4. Chapter 4

"Back to the Tardis. Quickly! She can shield us!" the Doctor commanded, forceful. He didn't care that Bill started from his tone, just that she understood his urgency.

"What's happening?" she said but at least she was running when she said it.

"The drones. They're scanning for life signs." It was Cassian who answered her. He seemed pretty clever for a human.

The Doctor's mind was racing. It was only a matter of time before this ship was scanned and they were found. And then what? Captured? Blown up? If the condition of the planet was anything to go by, he'd assume the latter. And then there was the issue of those larger ships. He'd seen one himself, a long time ago and had hoped never to see one again.

He hated so much that what the Sorcerer had said on Scarif was true.

The lights flickered and went out, plunging the corridor into darkness. Of course the power would fail. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver and set it to the flashlight setting, bathing them all in a soft blue glow.

At the end of the corridor, Cassian was already trying to pry the door open, but it was no use, sealed shut and out of power.

"Damn it," Cassian said and slammed a hand against the door. "There has to be another way."

The Doctor was already on it, aiming the screwdriver at the door. It warbled and everyone stumbled as something jostled the ship.

"Is your plan to rupture that door? Because it's not working."

The Doctor adjusted the screwdriver's settings. "I suspect that was the drone latching onto the hull and preparing its scan." He aimed at the door again.

The next jolt almost sent them off their feet.

"And that would be it realizing we're here."

"Can you do that any faster?" Bill said.

"The sonic has at least ten thousand settings, three hundred and forty of which are for doors. This one is being stubborn." He tried another setting, wondering what the original crew's plan had been should the power fail. There was such a thing as too much security after all.

"And you don't have a setting for wood?"

"I'm a little busy at the moment."

The ship continued to shake and it was getting hot in here. If there was still power, an alarm might have gone off.

With a hiss, the door sprang open.

"Go, hurry!" They all ran, reckless in the dark and if the situation weren't so stressful, the Doctor would have been curious about the energy readings, the drone communicating with the engine and overheating it.

But for now, it was best to run. The air was becoming unbearably hot, stifling. There was the roar of an explosion behind them.

The Tardis doors slammed, closing them in safety and the Tardis jerked and then went still. The Doctor ran for the console to confirm what he already suspected. The ship was gone. The Tardis floated freely in space but they were safe for now, thoroughly shielded from the drone's scanners.

As soon as the danger had passed, Jyn rounded on the Doctor. "What do you know about this?"

The Doctor frowned. He should be used to human ire by now, but it only ever frustrated him and slowed things down. "Hardly more than you."

"I'm not blind. Those vessels we saw, those were Death Stars. An entire _fleet_ of them. How did the Empire build so many without us knowing it?"

"It's not the Empire," the Doctor said. "Those drones are Hvroivian technology. I'd say we're dealing with technology thieves here."

Jyn marched right up to him and though he was quite a bit taller than her, she didn't seem at all fazed by it. "We did what we could to ensure the Death Star's destruction. My father _died_ to get us that information. All of our friends are dead now because of it. And now there are more of them? Our mission was a waste and all those deaths were for nothing."

"Jyn."

"She's right, though," Cassian said. "How long did you know about this? Were you going to tell anyone or let them find out like the Kaleesh did?"

The tension was palpable and Bill shifted her attention from Jyn and Cassian to the Doctor and back again.

The Doctor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not from this galaxy," he said. "I was not aware of the current state of things. I am not a part of your civilizations or anyone's. I was lured here with the promise of such a threat and it's as much a mystery to me as it is to you. One which I intend to solve. That is the truth of the matter and it's up to you whether you believe me or not." Though truthfully, he didn't really care.

"Either way, we need to get to Yavin 4," Jyn said. "We need to warn the rebellion of what's coming."

"It won't do any good."

"We have to at least try," Cassian added.

"You lost a lot of people to destroy only one of them." The images from Scarif were still fresh, as well as the smoke and the smell of burning flesh.

"Our cause was always a lost one," Jyn said. "That will never stop us from trying."

So the Doctor took them back home. He had to admit, at least to himself, that he admired them. The perseverance of the human spirit never ceased to amaze him. How even during the lowest of lows, they could still rise again and on nothing more than hope. Hope, when other races would have given up long ago.

Hope would not help them. Not this time.

The Tardis was unusually quiet on the journey. Bill kept casting him glances as if she had something to say but didn't want to break the quiet.

And when the Tardis finally materialized on Yavin 4, the silence remained for a few moments longer as if no one was quite sure how to break it.

"Home sweet home," the Doctor said though he figured it was anything but. The Tardis kindly opened the doors for them.

Jyn hesitated. "Thank you again for saving our lives," she mumbled. "And good luck."

"Yeah," the Doctor said. "To you too." It would be a relief when it was just him and Bill in the Tardis, but he sincerely hoped the two of them would be alright. They were strong. Brave. They might have made fine companions if they hadn't been born in war, too confrontational. Though in some way, they reminded him of Leela and so could maybe be forgiven for that.

"Bye." Bill waved. "It was nice meeting you. I mean, woulda been nicer if we didn't almost die," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

And then they were gone and the Tardis was back to normal.

The first time the Doctor had ever seen a Death Star, he'd been inside of it. That had been two incarnations ago and he'd never witnessed its power firsthand though he'd learned enough to know what a threat it posed. And now there was an entire fleet of them. One that had managed to stay unnoticed until now. Imperial technology outside of their control, organized by a race the Doctor knew nothing about. A race the Sorcerer obviously wanted him to stop.

"So…what now?" Bill said.

The Doctor ran a hand over the Tardis controls.

"Do you have a plan? About the Sorcerer?"

"The Sorcerer's going to have to wait" As much as he didn't want to give up that search, as much as he wanted answers, there were more pressing matters at the moment. "We can't let that fleet destroy another planet." He'd seen enough death and destruction in his long life.

"So you _do_ have a plan."

"The Tardis was scanning the whole time we were on that ship. It doesn't matter where they are now or when. We're going after that fleet."

The Tardis knew where to take them so all he had to do was pull the lever. And the Tardis groaned and wheezed and eased them into the time vortex, leaving Yavin 4 and the sole survivors of Rogue One behind.


	5. Chapter 5

It felt wrong, returning without them. Jyn had always known that being a rebel would kill her. It was why she'd run as soon as they'd freed her from that prison transport, why she hadn't wanted anything to do with them or their cause. She was a survivor and she would do anything to live. She'd hardened herself, she'd learned how to fight, how to crack codes all because those were useful skills that would keep her alive and put food in her. Not to mention that plenty of criminals had stayed their blades when they realized she had something they could use.

She was valuable, even more so after Saw Gerera had abandoned her during that botched mission, leaving her to fend for herself.

But the rebellion, it had infected her. Infected her with ideals and with hope. That maybe her father wasn't as cowardly as she'd built him up to be, that maybe she could save him. And that maybe, just maybe, her actions could make a difference.

She knew that becoming a rebel was a death sentence but had convinced herself that her death could benefit everyone, take the first step in defeating the Empire.

Yet here she was, alive when she should not be. Alive when everyone else was dead.

Clouds covered the sun, casting everything in a watery gray light.

"I don't know why I feel so apprehensive," Cassian finally said, breaking the silence between them. They'd been walking for several minutes along the jungle path after the Tardis had vanished behind them.

"Because we don't know yet if they got our transmission," Jyn said. "Because we're returning alone."

There hadn't been time to mourn. And Jyn had spent most of her life trying to keep her distance in order to avoid being hurt. But now as they walked, as no one was trying to kill her, it began to wash over her like a chilling wave. Everybody she'd ever cared about was gone now.

Her father was dead and not even at the Empire's hands. A stupid, careless death. She'd finally found him again after all these years and now he was gone.

Saw was dead. An old, angry man, the man who'd abandoned her but had once treated her as a daughter.

And all the others. K-2SO. Chirrut. Baze. Bodhi. The people who'd brought her to her father, who'd given her life greater meaning, who'd given her purpose. She'd only known them for a short time but had come to think of them as friends despite the niggling voice inside her that told her everyone she loved would always leave her.

"They're gone," she said because she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"I know," Cassian said softly and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she couldn't help but remember the beach on Scarif when they'd embraced each other and then just waited for the end to come. Her heart had beat so wildly and she could faintly feel his drumming hard as well and she'd cried quietly in fear.

Now that she was still alive, she didn't know what to do.

"Something's wrong," Cassian said and she felt him tense.

Jyn too could feel that something was off and she went still, trying to figure out what it was. But she heard and saw nothing through the trees. That's when her heart caught in her throat and her tears dried, unshed.

"I can't hear anything," she said.

"Exactly."

They broke into a run.

Several times, roots and rocks attempted to trip her but she always kept her balance and kept going. The Tardis had dropped them off at a safe distance from the base and so the run was long, but eventually they burst out of the trees, coming to the great temple which loomed large above them, a relic from another age.

The spacious landing pad was empty. Not a single fighter or cargo shuttle, nothing save for one broken down grav sled, forgotten.

"Oh no," Cassian said.

Headquarters should have been alive with activity. Fighter pilots recently returned from Scarif, Admiral Raddis giving a million orders for the next stage of their plan, Mon Mothma calling a meeting to look at the Death Star plans and discuss their attack.

Someone, anyone, should be looking over their shoulder, spotting Jyn and Cassian and welcoming them home as heroes even though Jyn didn't feel much like a hero at the moment.

Instead, the temple had an air of abandonment, of loneliness, the air here much too still.

Tentative, with dread, they went inside the temple only to find that it was just like the outside. Empty. The vast hangar showed no sign of recent use and no lines of star fighters greeted them. Jyn's pulse was all jittery and she wondered if they were too late, if the Empire had found them. But no, if that were true, this place would be a charred ruin and stormtroopers would be all over it. And besides that, they'd been all too occupied with events unfolding on Scarif.

Unless, of course, they were in the future. That's what the Doctor's ship did, wasn't it? Travel through time? Had he gotten the coordinates wrong?

They continued through the base, making their way to the upper levels which showed more signs that it had been evacuated in a hurry.

"Here." Cassian shoved a blaster into her hand that he'd found in a storage locker they must not have had time to empty. "Just in case." He took one for himself and shoved it in his belt.

Jyn had to admit it felt good to have a blaster in her hand again. It calmed her just enough. But as they searched, they ran into no hostiles, no one to shoot. So she ended up with all this pent up energy and nothing to do with it.

Eventually they came to a control room but the computers had been wiped, offering no explanation as to their sudden departure.

There was also a droid slumped against the wall and as soon as she saw it, every muscle in Jyn's body froze. She felt cold all over and suddenly like she was no longer in her own body. Like this was nothing more than a dream, that everything that had happened since leaving Scarif had been the crazed dream of someone who was, even now and had always been, sitting on the beach waiting to die.

It wasn't possible.

"K-2SO." Cassian was the first to break out of the spell. He ran to his fallen friend and then slowed as if he too feared it was a dream. Then, gingerly, he lowered himself to the ground and placed a hand on the droid's shoulder. "How?"

"This is wrong," Jyn said, finally getting the words out past her dry throat. "K-2 is dead. We heard him die. And even if he'd survived, the Death Star would have taken care of that." Her feet were still glued to the floor.

"I don't know what's going on," Cassian said. "The evacuation, K-2SO being here, any of it. But I'm going to find out. If I can repair him, we'll get our answers."

Jyn gave a shaky nod but she kept a tight grip on her blaster as if letting go meant death.

Something was very wrong and she had the aching suspicion the Doctor would know exactly what that something was.

* * *

Bill gripped the railing as if her life depended on it. She didn't remember traveling at speed being quite so bumpy but the Doctor had explained that that tended to happen whenever he tethered the Tardis' tracking system onto a moving target. Bill was just grateful she didn't get motion sickness.

"We're closing in. They've stopped." The Doctor had spent the last thirty minutes at the console, intently staring at his readings. With those eyes of his, Bill was surprised he didn't bore twin holes right through the screen. She giggled at the thought.

"What?" the Doctor said.

"Nothing." Bill was rubbish at keeping her emotions off her face.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." But that gaze turned on her only made her laugh out loud.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No." Why was it that he could terrify the pants off a Dalek – if Daleks wore pants, that was – but he could seem so hopelessly silly at times?

"Come on. You're making fun. You're stressed and people will laugh at anything when they're stressed."

Bill snorted but relented. "It's your eyebrows." Great, now she couldn't say the word eyebrows without laughing.

"My eyebrows?"

"Yeah. They're sort of…" She mimed heavy, scary eyebrows with her hands above her eyes which she doubted had the desired effect.

"There's nothing wrong with my eyebrows." The Doctor sounded defensive. He even glanced upward as if he could see them which only made Bill giggle even more.

"Eyebrows," he muttered, followed by several more words Bill couldn't make out as he turned back to the console. The Doctor flipped a switch and pulled a lever and the Tardis fell out of the time vortex, grinding to a halt.

"We're there?" Bill said. "With the fleet?" After seeing what one of those vessels had done to Kalee, she wasn't keen on being near a whole fleet of them.

"Right on schedule." The Doctor flipped a few more switches and there, on one of the screens, was the fleet. How many Death Stars there were, Bill couldn't tell. They didn't look so intimidating from here, like boring gray Christmas ornaments just hanging there, suspended in space.

The Doctor pressed a button on the console. "Hello? Is this thing on?" He waited a beat. "Can you hear me?"

A long silence passed and then a voice said, "We can hear you, Doctor."

"Oh good, you already know who I am," the Doctor said, shooting a reassuring glance at Bill. "That makes things easier, I can skip straight to the point. What are you doing with those Death Stars and why?"

Bill thought it was fairly obvious what they were doing with those Death Stars but she didn't say anything.

"Murder," the voice said in answer.

"Oh." The Doctor seemed taken aback as if he'd expected a different answer or to be told to mind his own business. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"You will leave this space."

"Will we? You made pretty good work of that planet back there. So why not just destroy us? Why the hesitation?"

Bill glanced at the Doctor. She should be used to him daring people by now, challenging his enemies to fire all weapons. Somehow, it always worked out, but she wondered how long that would last. How long before someone called his bluff, before someone refused to be cowed by the mere mention of his name.

"You will leave this space," they said again.

Bill breathed a small sigh of relief.

"You know who I am." It seemed the Doctor never missed an opportunity to show off. Bill really needed to do something about his ego. "Which means you know I can't do that. I've saved countless planets, I've saved the entire universe more than once. You know what I'm capable of and you know that I will stop you. And you know what? I think you're afraid. Because you know it's possible, because you know what I've done and you know you can't win."

Oh, the ego.

There was an even longer pause this time, presumably while the aliens discussed this amongst themselves. And then, "You will leave this space or you will be destroyed."

"You just had to keep on till they called your bluff," Bill said.

The Doctor's steely gaze was locked on the screen. "I don't bluff."

A red light began to blink of the console. "But they're inevitable defeat will not be today." The Doctor fiddled with the controls.

Bill kept staring at the screen, at the shapes of the Death Stars like moons without a planet to orbit, just waiting.

"What are you doing?"

"Tactical retreat."

"I thought you said you weren't bluffing."

"And neither are they. There's a planet nearby with a habitable moon. We'll make our plans there."

The screen shut off and Bill found herself staring at her own reflection in its black surface. The warning light went off a few seconds later as they slipped into the time vortex.

"Do you really think we can stop them?" she asked. "I mean, is it possible?"

"It is very possible. I'll prove it to you."

Minutes later, they landed and when the Doctor opened the door, they were standing on the edge of a run-down village, the air gray and the people in gray and the buildings in gray and the silence of the downtrodden interrupted by the crying of birds. In one part of the sky near the horizon was the yellow-banded glow of a gas giant and on the other side of the sky, higher than the rooftops and the gray boughs of the gray trees was the now familiar looming presence of a Death Star.


	6. Chapter 6

With a final twist of the spanner, K-2SO's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" Cassian exclaimed and placed the spanner on the floor among the other tools he'd managed to scrounge up. "K-2SO," he said, making sure he was within the droid's line of sight. "Hey, buddy. You in there?"

K-2SO's photoreceptors focused on him. "Cassian, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here?" He couldn't stop grinning. K-2SO was alive.

"I was shut down while you were away. Something about my logic algorithms even though I told them my systems are fully functional.

"Did you get him online?" Jyn peeked into the control room. A smile lit up her face. "Kay, you're alive."

"That term applies only to biological life forms," K-2SO said. "Who are you?"

Jyn hesitated. "What do you mean, who am I? I'm Jyn. Jyn Erso, you remember?" She shot a concerned glance at Cassian.

"Jyn Erso," K-2SO said ponderously. "Any relation to the deceased Imperial engineer, Galen Erso?"

Jyn scowled. "That's not funny."

"Hey, whoa," Cassian said, raising a hand to placate her. "It's not his fault. I think something's wrong with his memory banks."

"There is nothing wrong with my memory banks." K-2SO huffed.

"And how would you know?"

"I regularly run self-diagnostics and I assure you, all my systems are functioning adequately."

"Yeah, well I want to check you out anyway." He reached for a screwdriver and went to work opening a panel in the back of the droid's head.

For all his grumbling and assurances, K-2SO let him work without much resistance. Jyn watched from the doorway, arms folded across her chest. He hadn't shown it, but Cassian was deeply worried. He didn't mention that as far as he knew, K-2SO should be dead. It didn't make any sense. The site had been completely obliterated. Nothing could have survived that and somehow Cassian doubted Kay had found his own convenient Tardis to escape in.

After a few minutes, K-2SO said, "Why are you here?"

"I came back."

"But why?"

Cassian's brow crinkled. "Because it's where I belong. Only…where is everyone? Do you know if they got our message?"

"They evacuated. I thought you'd gone too."

"Evacuated? Why? To where? No one told me of this."

"You were in the meetings," K-2SO said. "Maybe _your_ memory banks are faulty."

Maybe something had come up while he'd been on Scarif. That didn't explain K-2SO but there were greater things to worry about at the moment.

"There's not much more I can do right now," Cassian said, closing up the panel. "You're still with us, right? No murderous tendencies?"

"No, but I am confused."

"You and me both." Cassian looked back at Jyn. "We should look around a bit more, see if there's anything else we can use." If they'd left in a hurry, maybe there were more supplies they'd left behind. The first order of business would be to find a working communicator. Get word to the Rebellion, let them know he and Jyn were alive.

K-2SO rose to his feet and towered over Cassian. There was something off about him though Cassian couldn't decide what that was. Besides Kay's conflicting memories. It was in his bearing, the glow of his eyes, his programming. Cassian really hoped there wasn't anything more wrong with him that would present itself later on.

The three of them ventured further into the temple compound, noticing all the things that had been left behind. A jacket draped over a chair, the cuffs worn, some power packs, miscellaneous droid components, a sketch of a Jedi knight. No communicator.

"Do you think we've… traveled in time?" Jyn said, seeming hesitant to suggest the possibility.

"Time travel is impossible," K-2SO stated matter-of-factly.

"It's a possibility," Cassian said. "If what the Doctor told us was true."

"You think he lied?"

"Did no one hear me?" K-2SO said.

"I don't know what I think," Cassian said. "But we barely knew him. Why did he choose to save us when he could have escaped without? He didn't strike me as happy about doing so."

"It could have been an accident. If he dropped us off in the wrong time. It could have been a mistake."

Cassian snorted. "How can someone accidentally end up in the wrong time period?"

"Have you ever traveled through time? I didn't know you were such an expert."

"Time travel is only theoretical but no technology exists that allows it," K-2SO tried again.

"I am not claiming to be an expert," Cassian said.

"That's fine, I'm used to being ignored," K-2SO said.

Jyn sighed. "My point being that we know nothing of how the Tardis works. He shouldn't have left." If her theory was true, they were stuck here and who knew how much time had passed since their siege of Scarif?

"Exactly. We don't know anything about the Tardis or the Doctor."

As they walked, they came across a door Cassian didn't remember being there before. A strange, ethereal glow emanated from beneath it, a sort of glow that made the hairs on the back of his neck stick up. He exchanged a look with Jyn who seemed to feel the same thing he did. Their hands went to their blasters and Cassian slid the door open.

There was nothing on the other side. No storm troopers, no Empire. Nothing but that mysterious light. It bathed them all in its brilliance yet Cassian felt no urge to shield his eyes.

This definitely hadn't been here before.

"This isn't supposed to be here," K-2SO said.

Still brandishing his blaster, Cassian stepped over the threshold. The floor was smooth and solid. There was no apparent source from which the light came.

Jyn stepped up beside him and then K-2SO. They were in a long, long corridor, a white bright corridor that went on and on seemingly without end. The air felt muffled somehow and their footsteps made hardly a sound.

"What is this place?" Jyn said.

Cassian was similarly dumbfounded and could only shake his head.

"I'm not picking up any life signs," K-2SO said. "I'm not picking up…anything."

It should have made Cassian feel relieved but it only served to increase the unease building like a stone in his stomach.

Step by cautious step, the three pressed forward into the corridor.

* * *

Dust hung in the air, making Bill cough. She hugged herself against the chill air, unable to get rid of the feeling that she was being watched. The Death Star loomed ominously overhead and she thought that if she looked up at it, it would know. It would see her and crush her, obliterate her like the other one had done to the island on Scarif.

The bleak landscape was dotted with wooden huts and scaffolding and fields of livestock but the ground gradually sloped down toward the mine.

Furry aliens toiled away, carting rocks, carrying laser picks, long ears folded back against the constant wind. They worked with shoulders hunched and heads lowered.

"Are they slaves?" Bill said with the heaviness of dismay.

"It's an unfortunate side effect of civilization," the Doctor said. "The strong will always subdue the weak, try to prove their superiority. It doesn't matter if it's the Ancient Egyptians or a space faring species in a distant galaxy. Some things never change."

Bill's lip curled. "It's disgusting."

"Yes, it is. I'm going to speak with them."

Bill pulled her jacket tighter around her and rubbed her arms.

Several aliens looked up at their approach and shied away from them but not too much that it looked like they were shirking their duties.

Anger started to build up in her and she clenched her fists.

"Hey, you," the Doctor said. The alien looked startled to be addressed. "Yes, you. I was wondering if you could answer some questions." When the alien still seemed unsure, he gave his most disarming smile. "I don't bite. Promise."

The alien glanced back at his companions, ears flat against the back of his neck, and then turned his attention to the Doctor.

"Hey," Bill tried, smiling a gentler smile. "It's alright. We're friends. What's your name?"

The alien hesitated some more before finally speaking. "Korva," he said in a soft voice. "My name in Korva."

"Hello Korva," Bill said. "I'm Bill and this is the Doctor. You're not in trouble, we just want to talk."

Korva still seemed distrustful. "Aliens don't come here often."

"And what about the aliens who came in that?" The Doctor pointed up at the Death Star.

"They are different," Korva said. "They came here a year ago with their technology and told us to harvest ore from the mine to fuel their ships. So we did."

"Just like that? Without any fuss?" the Doctor said at the same time Bill said, "You didn't even put up a fight?"

Korva's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "Why would we fight?"

"Because you're slaves!" Bill exclaimed. "They're oppressing you, they're making you do all of this work and judging by the way you reacted to us, they're not treating you very well."

Korva rolled his shoulders in the equivalent of a shrug. "It's their right."

"What?!" Bill's eyes were wide with incredulity. "I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"Why?" the Doctor said. "Why is it their right?"

"Because they were sent by the gods, of course."

Bill opened her mouth but bit back her next explosion at a warning look from the Doctor. She wanted to say that was stupid, that that was no reason to just roll over and let it happen. She'd been on this planet for less than an hour and she already wanted to incite a revolt.

Coming up from the mine were several aliens though not the cowed, long-eared slaves. These wore sky blue armor with dark visors covering their faces but she knew they were aliens by their long limbs and by the way their helmets were shaped, suggesting the presence of backward facing horns.

One shoved a slave to the ground, shouting in a language of clicks and hisses.

"Hey!" the Doctor shouted a split second before Bill could. The armored aliens looked up. Two of them drew wicked-looking blasters.

"Are you in charge here?" the Doctor demanded to know.

"Off-worlders are not welcome here," said the alien who'd shoved the slave.

"By my definition, you shouldn't be here either. You're off-worlders too, aren't you? Taking advantage of a less-advanced species, claiming to be sent by their own gods to oppress them. You should be ashamed."

"We know all about you, Doctor," the lead alien said. "Your talking tactics will not work on us. You are the fly. We are the swarm."

"Ah!" the Doctor said. "So you're Legion, hmm? I've heard that before."

"You are ancient and powerful. You have all of space and time at your fingertips. Yet the Daleks still exist. The Cybermen. The Master. All the enemies of your people still live because you could not destroy them. Yet we, the Wardens, are stronger."

"I've heard that one too. That still doesn't change anything."

Bill knew the Doctor well enough to recognize the wince in his voice, the sting those words had caused.

"You are welcome to try if only to prove your own ineffectualness to yourself. But we did warn you." The alien, the Warden, snapped its wrist in a sharp gesture and its companions singled out targets and fired their blasters.

"No!" Bill lurched forward but it was so sudden. There was nothing she could do.

Four of the slaves dropped dead and the others ducked their heads. A few whined. Bill gritted her teeth.

"That wasn't necessary," the Doctor said.

"Perhaps not for me. But for you." The Warden turned and walked away, flanked by its companions. Once they had gone a significant distance, the remaining slaves converged upon the dead, allowing themselves to cry and curse and to carry the bodies away.

Bill wanted to run over and punch that stupid alien in the throat but she knew she wouldn't get anywhere near it.

Korva sidled up to them and gave a low keen.

"Your gods would not have wanted this," the Doctor said. "Where did they come from really?"

"Their arrival was foretold long ago," Korva said. "We know this was the destiny the gods wanted for us. We always knew."

Bill's nails bit into the palms of her hands but she didn't care. This wasn't right. None of it was right. She forced herself to watch as the bodies of the fallen, needlessly murdered, were carried away.


	7. Chapter 7

There was no source of light and there were no shadows, making Jyn feel detached from everything. She kept expecting to fall through the floor no matter how solid it felt beneath her feet. She, Cassian, and K-2SO had left the strange door behind them but now she was starting to regret it. The corridor was long and there was no ceiling, only white walls that rose high above their heads on either side.

"Still no readings," K-2SO said. "I'm starting to think I'm broken."

"You're not broken, Kay," Cassian said. He looked up as if he expected danger to swoop down on them from above. "I wonder if this is why everyone evacuated."

"Some sort of invading force, do you think?" Jyn asked.

"Except they haven't invaded."

 _Yet._ Jyn shivered. Ever since the Doctor had come into their lives, the universe had gotten stranger and stranger. As much as she was tempted to go back, there was nothing left there for any of them. They'd failed their mission but now they'd been given a new one. Find answers.

The corridor gradually transformed into an artificial geography of right angles and shadowless contours, of alien shapes that hummed so lightly it could only be heard if you held your breath.

Cassian exhaled slowly. "We're definitely nowhere near Yavin 4."

Despite the lack of shadows and the place's uniform whiteness, Jyn got the impression of being in a vast space. "You don't suppose it was some sort of experimental teleportation technology?" If so, they shouldn't have been so ready to go through that door. For all they knew, they'd been atomized and cloned half-way across the galaxy.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

White shapes gave way before them, revealing something familiar which broke up the bright monotony.

Here was the aliens' fleet of Death Stars. At least some of them. Because the space was so vast and empty, they could see many of the huge, spherical craft. Some were grounded and some seemed to be docked high above them. Some were in a state of construction, metal skeletons only half-covered in paneling.

Jyn's heart sank as it really hit home. Everything they'd lost to get the Death Star plans came washing over her, everything they'd sacrificed for nothing. And this time they were on their own. No rebellion and no Doctor to help them this time.

"No time to think about it," Cassian said suddenly. "Come on."

There was movement and several armored aliens appeared. Jyn didn't get a good look at them as Cassian dragged her aside. They fell behind one of the many near-invisible shapes. Feeling around it, Jyn realized it was hovering several inches off the ground though it felt as stable as a boulder.

The aliens didn't seem to notice them and now they spoke together in a quick, chirping language.

"It's even bigger than we realized," Jyn whispered. How many Death Stars were there? A hundred? Two? How many had there been near Kalee? "How could they have kept this a secret for so long?"

Cassian shifted so he could better watch the aliens. "It doesn't add up. Your father helped design the Death Star. Yet he knew nothing of this?"

"If he did, he would have told me." Despite what she'd thought of him through the years, she believed it wholeheartedly. She believed in Galen Erso and that if those plans had ever made it into rebel hands, it would spell victory. At least, it would have once, in a universe in which such a devastating weapon was one-of-a-kind. "And besides, the Doctor said they're not Imperial."

"Well, the Empire is really purist," Cassian said in disgust. "But you can't believe everything the Doctor said, can you?"

"What reason would he have to lie?"

"There are lots of reasons."

"He saved our lives." Jyn couldn't believe they were arguing about this again.

"Why? In my experience, nothing comes for free."

"You saved my life. You and Kay."

Cassian looked torn. "You know why we took you from that prison transport."

Jyn bit her lip. "Maybe that's my point. You saved me in order to find my father but I'm better off, aren't I?"

"Are you?"

The aliens were still talking. They seemed to be in deep discussion about something. Jyn watched them for what seemed a very long time. If the rebels had left her alone, she might have lived out the rest of her days in a labor camp. She'd have lived longer, but she wouldn't have been free. If she'd died on Scarif, she wouldn't have regretted it. She didn't.

"We need to figure out our next move," Jyn said, steering the conversation to more pressing matters.

"There's not much we can do on our own," Cassian said. "We need back up."

"We need to get out here."

"We need a ship."

"I wish we could hear what they're saying," Jyn said. "We need to know what they're planning."

"You could have started with that and skipped the bickering," K-2SO said. "I will go ask them." He rose out of their hiding place.

"No, Kay, _stop_ –" Cassian hissed, drawing his blaster.

"Excuse me." As soon as K-2SO was visible, the aliens leveled their weapons at him, weapons that looked like electrostaves but which Jyn suspected worked more like blaster rifles.

"Dammit." Cassian rose.

K-2SO unapologetically raised his hands. "I don't think they're going to tell," he said.

"Kay!"

Several of the aliens pointed their blasters at Cassian and Jyn as they abandoned their hiding place. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, K-2SO lowered one hand and shot a blaster bolt directly at one of the aliens' chests. It collapsed and there was no time to think.

There was alien shouting and the fizz of energy in the air. Jyn's finger squeezed the trigger of her own blaster. It was over in seconds, the group of aliens lying still on the ground, spilling watery blue blood.

"I cannot believe you did that!" Cassian said, running over to K-2SO. His voice was so tense it threatened to break. " _And when did you get a wrist cannon installed?!_ "

"Two months ago. I don't see what all the fuss is about, you were there."

A blaster bolt struck the floor a foot away from Jyn. She immediately spun, blaster at the ready. "Come _on_!" They were out of their element. More aliens were coming for them.

Cassian returned fire and missed. One of the aliens shouted something.

The way back to Yavin 4 was blocked off and so Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO had no choice but to run even deeper into this strange and alien dimension.

* * *

"That is _so_ wrong," Bill said as she shut the Tardis door, closing them off from the world outside.

The Doctor wholeheartedly agreed. As he adjusted controls on the console, he kept one eye on the video screen which gave him a view of the mine where the slaves were busy toiling away under the watchful eyes of the Wardens. There were many practices throughout the universe that he couldn't tolerate but the worst was the robbing of free will. Everyone had a right to live their lives freely, to think and act as they pleased so long as it did not impinge on another's rights. He would never understand the sapient's desire to take advantage of others.

"The situation is worse than I thought," the Doctor said.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Bill joined him at the console.

"We're going to find out where these Wardens came from." He pulled a lever.

The Tardis groaned and the video of the mine was replaced by tightly-wound Gallifreyan script. If anything, at least this moon gave them a place to start.

When the Tardis rematerialized and he checked the readings to make sure the environment outside was safe, he opened the door and peered out.

The Tardis was perched on a ledge half-way up a mountain and from here he had a good view of the valley below.

Many of the furry aliens were gathered there, all of their attention riveted to the spacecraft in their midst. From the belly of the ship marched several Wardens, clad in armor, faces obscured by their helmets.

"Is this before they were slaves?" Bill asked, peering around him into the valley. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"We can't change time." The Doctor wished he could hear what was being said though he could guess. He'd seen it before. An advanced species landed on a primitive planet and set itself up as gods. It was actually quite common. "Fixed points and all that."

It didn't matter if the two species could understand each other or not. Judging from the natives' clothing, they were pre-industrial and the lack of weapons spoke of a pacifistic society. The Wardens were sure to impress.

As if on cue, the aliens knelt as one, bowing before their gods.

The Doctor retreated back into the Tardis. He went to the console and tweaked the temporal coordinates. "Korva said his people were expecting the Wardens. But for how long, I wonder?"

When they next emerged from the time vortex, it was at the edge of a town five hundred years prior to the arrival of the Wardens. Too late, when the Doctor and Bill entered the town, he realized that he couldn't blend in like he did on Earth. He looked nothing like these furry, long-eared aliens who openly pointed at them and whispered to their companions. Some of them scurried away when the Doctor met their gazes.

"Maybe we should have started with 'we come in peace,'" Bill said, forming the Vulcan salute with one hand and trying to smile disarmingly though it looked more awkward than friendly.

"Excuse me," the Doctor said but the words were barely out of his mouth before the alien he addressed bolted. They were a timid bunch, that was for sure.

"We don't mean you any harm," Bill tried. "Is this how you feel whenever you go to a planet without any humans on it?"

"Usually when I go to an alien planet, they've already accepted the existence of extra-terrestrials." He caught the eye of one alien who didn't run and took that as an invitation. Putting on his friendliest smile, he approached and said, "Hello. Can you spare a moment to talk about our lords and saviors, the Wardens?"

The alien seemed taken aback at being addressed. He lowered his gaze, forced himself to look back up again, and made a visual effort to remain composed. "Are you here as the Liar? You were not sent by the gods."

"Well that's an impossible question to answer. If I say no, you'll only assume I'm lying but if I say yes and I _am_ the Liar, then I must not be but if I'm not, then I was telling you the truth, in which case I _am_." He could have gone on forever except that both Bill and the alien were giving him incredulous looks. "Paradoxes can be tricky to navigate. So you _are_ waiting for someone?"

It took a second for the alien to realize he'd changed the subject. "Our gods," he finally said, "whom we obey."

"Good. That's all I needed to know." He turned and strode away, leaving the perplexed alien to stand there and stare.

So even in this time period, they were still expecting the Wardens to show up. It was starting to look more and more like the Wardens had shaped their culture and beliefs to suit their own needs, giving themselves a willing slave race for when the time came.

The Doctor put in the next temporal coordinates with more force than necessary.

"Where are we going?" Bill asked.

"Further back in time." The Doctor pulled the lever.

Here, beneath the glow of the gas giant, many aliens gathered at the foot of the stone temple and raised their voices in eerie song which drifted across the night. They danced and they left offerings for the statue perched atop the temple, a statue of a humanoid figure with long arms and long legs, a staff in one hand, its elongated face devoid of features.

The Doctor shut the Tardis door. "Further," he said.

At their next stop, the surface of the moon was dry and covered in salt and sulfur. The air was hot. Vapors wafted on the breeze and Bill stayed behind because she couldn't breathe as long as he could here.

The Doctor's steps took him across the barren landscape when he found, long ago engraved in the multicolored rock, a pictogram. It was not made by the natives' hand as their ancestors were still floating in the shallow seas. The shape of the head was unmistakable.

Bill said nothing upon his return, only watching him as he ran a hand through his dusty hair and worked once more at the console. "Further," he said.

The Wardens hadn't come to make themselves gods. They _were_ gods and they'd never left.

The Doctor hesitated before going out this time. There was no going back any further. According to his readings, there was enough atmosphere to maintain a bit of heat but no oxygen. This was the end of the line.

There was no use in waiting any longer, so he looked.

Before him stretched a gray, desolate expanse of rock and not too far from the Tardis, a white glowing door.


End file.
